In the latest blow to what has been an uneasy relationship at best, the European Parliament has voted to freeze the talks of Turkey’s accession to the European Union. The vote carries only symbolic importance as in order for any such proposal to be binding either the European Commission or one-third of the European Union member states would first have to introduce such a motion and then a majority of the European Union member states would have to vote in favour of it. But it is not the fact that the vote is not binding that is significant; rather the vote’s importance lies in what it implies for the tenuous relationship between Turkey and the European Union.
It is no secret that the European Union needs Turkey in order to stem the flow of refugees in it, which previously was even threatening the stability of certain European Union countries. The deal between the European Union and Turkey in March this year made Turkey the gatekeeper of Europe by making it binding upon Turkey to receive any refugees back who enter Greece illegally. This was the reason behind Europe’s muted response over Turkish crackdown in the aftermath of the attempted coup of all such individuals who Turkey considers are linked to the US based cleric Fethullah Gulen, the alleged master mind of the attempted coup. Whereas the actions of Turkish government received mass and widespread opprobrium from the international media, the dealings between Turkey and the European Union carried on without major impediments, fuelled by the exigencies of the refugee crisis.
Now it seems that the conscience of the European Parliament did not allow it to continue to provide approval to the diplomatic manoeuvrings of the European Union member states. Some in the European Parliament are even of the view that the March deal gives the Turkish government a great deal of leverage vis-a-vis European Union and latter’s dependence on it needs to stop. However, the main issue here is whether to prioritise perceived moral concerns or the member states’ self interest. While the populist voices within the European Parliament may have triumphed in condemning Turkish actions, it seems unlikely that the European Union would want to cross Turkey, particularly when Turkish President Recep Tayyib Erdogan has even conveyed mixed feelings of acceding to the European Union in the first place, thereby undermining the most important card in the European Union’s deck. Moreover, Turkey is already struggling with the refugee crisis despite European Union’s monetary assistance for that purpose, and so for Turkey to cancel its current arrangement with the European Union is not exactly a very far off possibility.
Decisions at the international stage are often imperfect because their results, more often than not, harm the interests of one party or the other. This is what is characterising the present state of uncertainty between Europe and Turkey. Fundamentally, European Union needs Turkey on its side but it also does not want to be perceived as an organisation that supports alleged authoritarian regimes. It obviously cannot have both. However, while this choice might be important, it should not cloud the bigger picture, which is that the Middle East is burning, and the refugees fleeing from it are doing so because of desperation. The blame for it is, in no small part, on ill-conceived policies of western intervention. A long term policy for the interest of both Turkey and Europe is then the need to stabilise the Middle East, and that is what the focus should essentially be on. *